§ Mr. SheermanTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps her Department is taking to protect biodiversity in the United Kingdom. [63514]
§ Mr. MeacherThe UK biodiversity action plan and subsequent individual action plans for 45 habitat and 391 species set out the measures to be taken to conserve biodiversity in the United Kingdom. The UK biodiversity group report "Sustaining the Variety of Life–5 Years of the UK Biodiversity Action Plan", published in March 2001 detailed progress on the plan and made recommendations for its further implementation. The Government expect to respond to the group's report and recommendations shortly.
Within the UK framework, responsibility for implementing the UK action plan now lies with the Scottish Executive, the National Assembly for Wales and the Northern Ireland Assembly. In the Rural White Paper "Our Countryside: the Future—A Fair Deal for Rural England" the Government announced it would prepare a biodiversity strategy for England. Work streams have been established covering the major sectoral policy areas impacting on biodiversity in England including, agriculture, forestry, water and wetlands, marine and coastal, urban and development, and business. In addition, there are workstreams for the cross-cutting themes of education and local and regional action. We expect to publish the strategy later this year.